1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to firearms, preferably small firearms such as handguns. Specifically, the present invention relates to a firearm hammer having a rotatable and/or removable spur. The rotation enables the spur to rotate at least ninety degrees to place the spur top surface perpendicular from its normal firing position to relieve the chances of having the spur contact clothing when the handgun is concealed carried. The removal allows the spur to be completely removed from the handgun, and inserted at a subsequent time.
2. Description of Related Art
Many firearms including handguns, such as pistols and revolvers, are hammer fired. The hammer is a pivoting element near the breech of the gun barrel that is drawn back against spring tension, and released upon pulling the trigger. A forward face of the hammer pivots forward to strike the rear of a firing pin (or may itself including a firing pin) to strike the cartridge. The hammer typically has a spur, which is an extension that protrudes upward and/or rearward when the hammer is in the forward position, and which is engaged by the shooter's thumb to pull the hammer rearward to a cocked position in preparation for the next shot. Some firearms require cocking for each shot, and others such as semiautomatic pistols operate to automatically cock the hammer by the action of pulling the trigger or by the cycle of action.
Some firearms are provided with extension pieces that are bolted on to the spur, and which are essentially posts that extend laterally to the side of the spur, to allow the shooter to more easily grasp the spur, and place the spur beyond, for example, an the interfering scope. These extensions may be attached to the left or right side of the spur, depending on the handedness of the shooter.
In relation to smaller handguns that are typically used for concealed carry, the spur itself (independent of any additional extension) is a perpendicularly protruding object that is not only readily contacted by the shooter's thumb, but also by articles of clothing that the shooter wears during conceal carry. This clothing can obstruct the placement and removal of the firearm to and from the holster, and could unintentionally cock the firearm. The latter creates a serious safety problem, because a user may wrongly assume that because he has not manually cocked his firearm, it is safe for carrying about, when in fact the gun has been unknowingly cocked by inadvertent contact with clothing and is ready to fire.
Snagging the spur on articles of clothing, or having the spur inadvertently catch on an object on the person could compromise the comfort of the concealed carry firearm, and/or cause a safety and performance issue for the user. It would therefore be a benefit in the field of art to introduce a hammer-spur design that mitigates some of these prevalent issues in the prior art for concealed carry handguns.